Avocado Caprese Salad

This was another video that was floating around.  You hardly need a recipe.

Heat 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar with a Pinch of Sugar over medium heat.  As soon at it starts to simmer, remove from heat.  The water will evaporate to create a more concentrated thicker Balsamic Glaze. 

Cut Avocado in half and remove the pit.  Brush with Lemon Juice to keep from turning brown.  Cut Mozzarella Pearls  and Grape Tomaotes in half.  Add these to the avacado cavity.  Drizzle with Oil Olive and Balsamic Glaze.  Add S&P and Basil.  Serve at once. 

Couscous

I made a wonderful Couscous yesterday to bring to my book club meeting.  We read a book called The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty.   The book is set in Casablanca, Morocco.  Our club has evolved to  trying to prepare foods that are either mentioned in the books we read or served in the location of the setting.  I regret that I didn't photograph this dish, but will next time when I make it again.

The recipe in general came from The Gourmet Cookbook.  The recipe called for Moroccan Style Preserved Lemon Wedges which should have been made 5 days ahead and since I didn't have time I substituted Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice.

Here is how to make the dish.

Preheat Oven to 425.

Cut 1 1/2 Lbs Butternut Squash to a 1/4" dice.  Toss with Olive Oil and roast for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.

While roasting is happening, cook 1 1/2 Cups Plain Couscous. (I used a 5oz box of Whole Foods 365 Couscous).  Boil together  1 1/2 Cups Water and 1/2 C Chicken Broth (use Vegetable Broth if making this for vegetarians) with 1/4 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Cinnamon and 1 Tbl Olive Oil.  Once boiling, slowly stir in couscous and remove from heat, keep covered and set aside for 5 minutes to cook.  Remove lid and stir with a fork to keep from clumping.

Meanwhile, toast 1/2 Cup Pinenuts in Olive Oil in a small skillet.  Chopped 1/4 Cup Parsley and set asside and measure out 1/2 Cup White Raisins.

To finish the dish, Dice 3/4 Cup Onion.  Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1-2 Tbl Olive Oil.  Add Onion and cook until light brown.  Add Roasted Squash and stir.  Add Couscous and stir to combine.  Add Toasted Pine Nuts, Raisins and Parsley.  Add S&P to taste.  Remove to a large flat rimmed platter to keep from continuing to cook.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.  Enjoy!!

Homemade Mozzarella Caprese Salad with Grilled Bread

I made Homemade Mozzarella for the second time.  This turned out better than the first time because I pulled it longer.  It was firmer and held its shape better.  One gallon of milk made 2 generous 8oz portions of cheese.   

For lunch I ate Slices of Mozzarella and Fresh Tomatoes drizzled in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, topped with Cracked Pepper and Hawaiian Black Salt.  I placed the tomato and cheese on Grilled Slices of Bread.  It was delicious!!

The story of Christmas...Fresh Cabbage turned into Cole Slaw

My tennis team adopts a family each year during the holidays.  This year I got to work directly with the mom/wife.  Her husband grows an incredible garden each season and he gave me a few HUGE cabbages from their winter garden as a token of their thanks!  Isn't that cool?  And aren't these beautiful?

The night I received them, I was roasting a Pork Loin in the oven and decided to make Cole Slaw to go along with it.  Not having a recipe, I made up a cole slaw dressing. 

First, I removed the outer leaves working with the tender lighter green leaves since it was going to be eaten raw.  Next, I removed the stem so I could fill it with water to rinse the leaves.  I turned it back stem side down to let it drain. 

Using a Bread Knife, I cut it in half which further allowed the water to run out.  So beware you have to clean it up because it holds a lot.  I used one full 1/2 Cabbage to make 6-8 side portions of cole slaw.  Using the bread knife, I cut thin slices, creating shreds.  I grated 1 Large Carrot and thinly sliced 1/2 Cup Red Cabbage that we happened to have on hand.  All of this was placed in a wooden bowl. 

Next, the cole slaw dressing.  Using a 2 Cup measuring cup, Add 1/2 Cup Olive Oil.  Add 2 TBL Rice Vinegar and 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar.  Stir in 1 tsp Kosher Salt and 2 tsp Sugar.  Using a wire whip, add 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise and 1/4 Cup Sour Cream.  Stir to combine and season with  Pepper and Celery Seed to taste.  Add more Salt, Mayonnaise or Sour Cream if needed.

Once you have the flavor the way you want it, pour 1/4 Cup of dressing onto the cabbage mixture and toss well before adding more.  The cabbage should be coated well but not swimming in dressing.  Serve at once for a delicious cold side dish/salad.  The cole slaw may be kept in the refrigerator for a few day already dressed.  I would tend to make what is going to be eaten and make it again.  The dressing can be kept for weeks in the refrigerator.

When I saw the Mom the next day, I gave her a jar of the dressing so she could make cole slaw for her family.  Enjoy and consider adopting a family one year, too!

Fresh Roasted Beet Salad

I just got back from NY/NYC.  Three times while there, I ordered a first course with Fresh Roasted Beets first from the Culinary Institute of America then at two different restaurants in NYC.

At one NYC restaurant, roasted golden and red beets were cut in wedges and served cold in a neat bowl.  On top was a generous amount of tender greens that were tossed in olive oil and an acid of sorts.  Throughout the dish there were small spoon fulls of goat cheese coated with pumpkin seeds.  The combination was really good and perfect for summer. This dish closely resembled what I ordered at the CIA.

At the second NYC restaurant, they were served in a more artistic manner on a flat rectangular plate.  The red beets were cut into chunks and were also served cold.  There was a smaller amount of greens as compared to the salad presentation I ate previously, and this one included sauteed scallions.  The greens too were coated in a light oil and acid dressing.  Interestingly, the goat cheese compliment also included sunflower seeds.

The first thing I bought when I got home was fresh beets and goat cheese.  I am going to try to recreate the dish that I enjoyed so much.  I have white truffle oil and champagne vinegar that I bought at Oil & Vinegar and I think those will work well.  I still need to get the sunflower seeds and some sort of small tender greens or micro greens.  This should be a fun dish to prepare. Here's my Roast Beet Salad recipe.

If you roast the beets in the morning, they'll be chilled by dinner.  Preheat the over to 325.  Peel about 1 lb. Fresh Beets and cut into similar sized pieces, about 1/2" squared.  Toss in Olive Oil and place single layer on a sheet pan.  Roast for about 45 minutes, turning them over a few time for even roasting. Let cool, the chill in a paper towel lined bowl.  I bought about .10 lbs of sunflower seeds that I found sold in bulk.  That is plenty for this use.  I sauteed them in 1 tsp Butter stirring the entire time, until golden and crunchy.  Let cool.  Rinse and spin the desired amount of greens, I used two handfuls for 2 of us.  I used a combination of Fresh Spinach and tender Spring Mix.  Note, my presentation was more of a salad.  Place the greens in a bowl.  Toss with about 1 Tbl White Truffle Oil and 1/2 tsp Champagne Vinegar.  Season with S&P.  You can buy these specialty items by the 100ml at Oil & Vinegar or a shop similar, they are popping up all over the place.  It's worth it to visit one of these shops, because you get excellent combinations of flavors.

Time to assemble.  Add the greens to a flat plat.  Add the desired number of beets.  I used roughly 2-3 oz Goat Cheese.  Take small spoonfuls of the cheese and form it into a round shape and dot with the sunflower seeds.  These are not meant to look like balls though.  Add the cheese to the salad.  Add a few drops to Olive Oil to the goat cheese.  It helped take away some of the sharpness of it.  Another trick would be to lighten the goat cheese by whipping it with some cream cheese.  Once assembled, eat right away!! 

The other ingredient that was neat on one of the salads was the addition of Sugar Snap Peas.  I will add these to my next try at this salad.  The stem and string on one side was removed and they were blanched perhaps for 45 seconds, so they were cooked but a very bright green.  They were sliced open to expose the tiny peas attached to the pod.  Both sides of the pod were used and added great color, flavor, and a nice crunch.  I'll photograph the salad made with these once I make it. 


I hope you like this salad.  With the ingredients I used, it seemed quite similar to what I ate. 

Wedge Salad

What could be simpler and more cost effective than a wedge salad?  It's amazing that you can pay from $6 upwards to $8 for lettuce that costs about $1.25 a head.  I decided to make my own this week as the weather is getting rather hot. Certainly you can add to the cost with Crispy Shallots, Fragrant Toasted Nuts, and Crumbled Bacon but I used what I had plus my entree already called for shallots.
When ready to prep, whack the stem of the lettuce on the counter to break it away from the head and discard.  Remove any outside leaves that are either dirty or torn.  Rinse under cold water from where the stem was.  Empty the water and shake to remove excess water.   Place on a towel lined plate, stem hole down, and place in very cold refrigerator so it can drain.  This will ensure the lettuce is extra cold but not frozen.  (NOTE: one head will make 4 salads.)  I have mentioned before we have a man-frig, stocked with beverages, and it is on its coldest setting so I placed the lettuce in there for about 6 hours.  Also, chill the plates you plan to use for serving.
Dice Tomato removing the seeds first.  I actually cut grape tomatoes into 8ths and the seeds were so small, I didn't bother deseeding.  If I were using Roma's, I would've removed all the seeds and only diced the outer meat.  Finely chop Black Olives.  Crumble good quality Blue Cheese, I used Gorgonzola.  
Using a serrated knife, cut lettuce into 4 wedges.  Place on chilled plates so you can see all of the layers of the leaves of the 2 sides.  Top with good quality Blue Cheese Dressing, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Diced Tomatoes and Diced Black Olives.  Serve at one.

Orzo Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts

I was at a meeting about 10 years ago in Bethesda, MD and our lunches were catered. One day we had a delicious orzo salad. I went home and made a similar version of what I thought I had eaten.






Here is the recipe I came up with for my Orzo Salad.  You can buy 2 shapes of orzo. I like the elongated shape because it doesn't compete with the shape of the pine nuts the way the tear drop orzo shape does.



Over medium heat, toast 1/2 C Pine Nuts in Olive Oil. Place in bowl. Dice 1 Red Pepper and saute for 3 minutes in the same pan as the pine nuts. Place in bowl.

Steam for 2 minutes, 1 1/2 C Broccoli florets. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Cook 1 1/2 C Orzo in a large pot of boiling water. It will take about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking process. Toss in 1 Tbl Olive Oil.


Mix up a Balsamic salad dressing or use your favorite Italian dressing. I like to use Good Season's Italian dressing packettes and I combine 2 vinegars and 2 oils when I make it. Toss all ingredients together and add S&P to taste. Top with Grated Parmesan Cheese. You can make this with many combinations of vegetables. I sometimes use grape tomato halves, black olives cut in half and asparagus.